mourn

verb

ˈmȯrn 

mourned; mourning; mourns

intransitive verb

1

: to feel or express grief or sorrow

When he dies, people throughout the world will mourn.

—often used with for

thousands mourned for him

2

: to show the customary signs of grief for a death

especially : to wear mourning

mourned for thirty days in black clothes

3

: to murmur mournfully

—used especially of doves

transitive verb

1

: to feel or express grief or sorrow for

mourned the death of his son

mourning the loss of their youth

2

: to utter mournfully

… let the whirlwind mourn its requiem!

—W. S. Gilbert

mourner noun

mourningly

ˈmȯr-niŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of mourn

• grieve

Examples of mourn in a Sentence

She is still mourning her husband, who died last year.

Thousands of people mourned his death.

She was mourned by everyone who knew her.

She mourned the loss of her youth.

He still mourns the fact that he never went to college.

Recent Examples on the Web

Sanders was still mourning the loss of his beloved Brooklyn Dodgers, who’d fled west, to Los Angeles, nearly seventy years ago. —Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2026

Although Alison Brie fans are still mourning Zoya the Destroya, the Masters of the Universe star is enjoying her latest taste of onscreen evil. —Glenn Garner, Deadline, 28 Mar. 2026

The sound and vibration of every jet reverberates in my body, carrying with it the screams of orphaned children and mourning parents and the suffering of chemical attack survivors. —Mehrnoush Soroush, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026

The father of a man killed in a shooting at a Queens bar earlier this week is mourning the loss of his youngest child, while also expressing empathy for his killers. —Doug Williams, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English murnan; akin to Old High German mornēn to mourn, Greek mermēra care — more at memory

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for mourn

• borne
• bourn
• bourne
• corn
• morn
• porn
• scorn
• shorn
• sworn
• thorn
• torn
• warn

Kids Definition

mourn

verb

ˈmō(ə)rn 

ˈmȯ(ə)rn

1

: to feel or show grief or sorrow especially over someone's death

2

: to display the customary signs of grief for a death especially by wearing mourning

mourner noun